About Bulgaria

Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometers (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe’s 16th-largest country.

Population

Bulgaria’s population of 7.2 million people

Political Structure

Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy in which the most powerful executive position is that of prime minister.The political system has three branches—legislative, executive and judicial, with universal suffrage for citizens at least 18 years old. The Constitution of Bulgaria provides also possibilities of direct democracy. Elections are supervised by an independent Central Election Commission that includes members from all major political parties. Parties must register with the commission prior to participating in a national election. Normally, the prime minister-elect is the leader of the party receiving the most votes in parliamentary elections, although this is not always the case.

Infrastructure and Economy

Bulgaria has an emerging market economy in the upper middle income range, where the private sector accounts for more than 80 per cent of GDP. From a largely agricultural country with a predominantly rural population in 1948, by the 1980s Bulgaria had transformed into an industrial economy with scientific and technological research at the top of its budgetary expenditure priorities.

Bulgaria’s strategic geographic location and well-developed energy sector make it a key European energy centre despite its lack of significant fossil fuel deposits. Nearly 34 percent of its electricity is produced by the nuclear power station at Kozloduy and public opinion strongly supports nuclear energy development. The rapid expansion of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power stations make Bulgaria one of the fastest-growing wind energy producers in the world.